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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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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: content · bark · rush · clip · bank · cell · bat · calf

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. content — happy
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rush — hurry
  13. clip — a video
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — the amount
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cell — in biology

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