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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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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: arm · clip · root · band · capital · bank · pound · bear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. root — of a word
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bank — for money
  9. capital — a city
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — for paper
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. clip — a video
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. root — of a plant
  23. band — a ring
  24. root — the cause

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