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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. clip — a video
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. clip — for paper
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. content — happy
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bore — to tire
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bank — for money
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bank — for money

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