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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 124 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. clip — for paper
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. prune — to trim
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. ball — a great time
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bank — of a river
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — an illness

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