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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 116 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: cabinet · band · pass · clip · kid · bank · row · chair

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. kid — child
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bank — of a river
  7. band — a ring
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. row — a line
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. row — to paddle

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