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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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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: roll · ground · kid · clip · rush · cue · bank · arm

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. cue — a hint
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. bank — for money
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bank — of a river
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bank — for money
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — child
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ground — crushed
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cue — for pool
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cue — a signal
  24. roll — a list

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