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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cue — a signal
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — a video
  16. bound — obliged
  17. track — a song
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bound — certain
  20. track — a path
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cue — a hint
  23. clip — for paper
  24. track — to keep track

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