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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: last · stand · rock · clip · fan · bank · track · pound

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. clip — a video
  5. stand — to bear
  6. rock — music
  7. last — to go on
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. last — finally
  12. rock — a stone
  13. track — a song
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — to cut
  17. last — final
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bank — of a river
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — a path

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