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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. court — for sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bank — of a river
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — a break
  10. bank — for money
  11. pound — a weight
  12. court — of a king
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of law
  15. face — to confront
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — for paper
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bank — for money
  22. tube — a container
  23. clip — to cut
  24. face — part of the head

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