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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 120 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bank — of a river
  4. mark — a trace
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bank — for money
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. band — a music group
  23. stem — to come from
  24. band — a rubber band

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