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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 120 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bank — for money
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fall — the season
  14. plane — a tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hand — help
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bank — of a river

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