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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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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a ring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wound — an injury
  6. clip — for paper
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a music group
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. mouse — the animal

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