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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 124 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. clip — to cut
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pop — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. pop — soda
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bank — of a river
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. club — for golf
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — a video
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. club — a group
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bank — for money
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bank — for money

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