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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: mine · deal · clip · temple · squash · bank · pop · cell

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — a video
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bank — for money
  8. pop — music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — to cut
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. pop — soda
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pop — to visit
  24. deal — to handle

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