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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — of a river
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — happy
  5. bank — for money
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — a law
  8. clip — a video
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. content — the amount
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. rule — government
  22. kick — in football
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — after costs

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