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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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468
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: straw · rash · bore · bank · pitch · season · kick · clip

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. bank — of a river
  5. rash — a series
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — for paper
  20. season — of the year
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rash — hasty
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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