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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: mug · root · net · bank · saw · wind · clip · cold

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — in sport
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mug — a face
  11. net — after costs
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. net — for catching
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. root — the cause
  18. cold — not warm
  19. clip — for paper
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. wind — moving air
  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