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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hand — in cards
  6. march — the month
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. staff — employees
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. staff — a stick
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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