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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 124 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — to go on
  4. fall — the season
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a music group
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bank — of a river
  11. clip — to cut
  12. shower — rain
  13. last — final
  14. perch — the fish
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — finally
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bank — for money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — a video

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