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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 116 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: hand · bank · root · saw · object · land · clip · bowl

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. object — an aim
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. object — to protest
  9. root — of a word
  10. land — ground
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — to cut
  14. object — a thing
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. land — to come down
  18. root — of a plant
  19. saw — the tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. root — the cause
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. land — a country

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