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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · kick · scale · mate · clip · bay · bank · bark

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — in music
  14. mate — to breed
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cold — not warm
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bank — for money
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. kick — in football

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