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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bank — for money
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. clip — a video
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. dip — to sink
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. bass — low music
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bass — the fish
  17. ball — a dance
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bass — the instrument

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