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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 116 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — a song
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. track — to keep track
  9. staff — employees
  10. bank — of a river
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — rain
  14. clip — for paper
  15. staff — a stick
  16. race — a contest
  17. staff — employees
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — a path
  23. clip — a video
  24. race — humankind

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