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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bank — for money
  3. mark — a trace
  4. race — a contest
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a ring
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. net — after costs
  9. band — a music group
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — a leader
  20. clip — a video
  21. race — the arms race
  22. clip — to cut
  23. race — humankind
  24. bank — of a river

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