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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. land — a country
  3. bass — the fish
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — army training
  7. bank — for money
  8. bass — low music
  9. file — a line of people
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. file — a tool
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a document
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. bank — of a river
  22. drill — a practice
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stand — to bear

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