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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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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: bank · clip · file · hand · pass · rule · cap · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — help
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a document
  12. rule — a law
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. file — a tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — government
  18. cap — a lid
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. cap — of ice
  24. file — a line of people

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