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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: date · bank · stock · clip · root · mate · wave · arm

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bank — for money
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. stock — shares
  9. bank — for money
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — a video
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. root — of a word
  16. mate — a friend
  17. root — the cause
  18. bank — of a river
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stock — goods
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. root — of a plant

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