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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: deal · temple · clip · pound · land · bore · bank · row

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bore — to drill
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — a line
  6. bank — for money
  7. land — ground
  8. bore — to tire
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. row — to paddle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pound — a weight
  19. clip — a video
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. clip — for paper
  24. temple — side of the head

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