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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — a video
  3. firm — a company
  4. bank — for money
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — for paper
  8. degree — from a university
  9. clip — to cut
  10. shower — to wash
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ball — a great time
  15. shower — rain
  16. kid — child
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. firm — steady
  20. ball — a dance
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — an amount
  23. kid — to tease
  24. branch — a division

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