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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bank — for money
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. field — farmland
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rush — hurry
  9. field — for sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — for money
  13. drill — army training
  14. bank — of a river
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bass — the fish
  20. field — a subject
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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