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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bank — for money
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — of water
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ball — a dance
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — the season
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rule — government
  21. bank — of a river
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rule — a law

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