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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. clip — to cut
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — a video
  15. rock — music
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chip — in a computer

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