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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: clip · bank · mine · coach · mouse · object · rush · content

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. mine — for digging
  4. object — an aim
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — for money
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bank — for money
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bank — of a river
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. content — happy
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. object — a thing
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — a video

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