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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: mine · cell · bound · clip · pop · mark · ball · bank

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bank — of a river
  3. clip — a video
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pop — to visit
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bound — certain
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pop — soda
  18. bound — obliged
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bound — tied together

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