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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. dip — to sink
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bank — for money
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — magic
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. row — to paddle
  16. clip — for paper
  17. board — to get on
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spring — the season
  23. spell — letters
  24. clip — a video

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