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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — a position
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pop — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. current — electric
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — happy
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. current — of water
  14. clip — to cut
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. pop — soda
  19. content — the amount
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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