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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 120 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: bass · bark · bank · craft · clip · capital · cell · rash

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. craft — boats
  7. clip — a video
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. clip — for paper
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. bass — low music
  14. capital — money
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cell — a phone

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