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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: stick · spell · clip · bark · arm · row · bank · file

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spell — letters
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. file — a tool
  15. row — a line
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — magic
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — for paper
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bank — for money

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