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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 120 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: wound · bowl · bank · snap · clip · row · pound · bay

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. pound — a weight
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bank — of a river
  12. clip — to cut
  13. snap — to click
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. wound — an injury
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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