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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: squash · clip · land · track · hand · bark · bank · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bark — to shout
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — to come down
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — a video
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — a country
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — help
  21. land — ground
  22. squash — to crush
  23. fine — all right
  24. squash — the sport

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