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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ball — a great time
  3. present — a gift
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — a video
  6. band — a ring
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. root — of a plant
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. root — of a word
  13. present — there
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. present — the time now
  17. ball — a dance
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. root — the cause

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