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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. clip — a video
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a trace
  5. file — a document
  6. bank — for money
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — of water
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — a grade
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pound — a weight
  20. file — a tool
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bank — of a river
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. row — a quarrel

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