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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — for a lock
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — for paper
  12. squash — to crush
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — to play on
  18. clip — a video
  19. spring — the season
  20. swing — music
  21. bank — of a river
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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