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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: bear · pound · bank · chest · spring · pit · wax · clip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bank — for money
  12. bear — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — a box
  21. pound — a weight
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wax — in the ear

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