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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: mouse · clip · craft · present · march · bank · stand · wound

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. present — the time now
  3. stand — to bear
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. march — the month
  7. clip — for paper
  8. present — there
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — a video
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wound — an injury
  14. craft — boats
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bank — for money
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. march — the month
  24. bank — of a river

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