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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: toast · clip · ground · suit · pound · dip · bank · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. suit — to fit
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bank — for money
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. toast — bread
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. suit — clothes
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — a video
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. kid — child
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. ground — a position
  21. suit — in cards
  22. pound — a weight
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bank — of a river

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