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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. file — a tool
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. march — the month
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — the month
  11. bank — for money
  12. file — a document
  13. bank — of a river
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. march — music
  16. track — a song
  17. file — a line of people
  18. clip — a video
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. clip — for paper
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bank — for money
  24. track — a path

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