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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. clip — a video
  3. bank — of a river
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bank — for money
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bank — for money
  18. roll — a list
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. fan — a supporter

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