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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bank — of a river
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cold — an illness
  10. clip — a video
  11. rash — a series
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bank — for money
  19. pound — a weight
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bank — for money
  24. calf — a young animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com