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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. band — a ring
  6. fall — the season
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kick — in football
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pound — a weight
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. pound — to hit hard

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