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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: mouse · game · bowl · bay · bank · clip · cold · lash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bank — for money
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — a video
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. game — a match
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bank — of a river
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. lash — an eyelash

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