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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bank — for money
  3. stand — to bear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bank — of a river
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. drill — a practice
  16. kid — child
  17. drill — army training
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spell — a short time
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. pound — a weight

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