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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stem — to come from
  3. craft — boats
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. band — a ring
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rule — government
  22. band — a music group
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. craft — a handicraft

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