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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — of a king
  4. mate — a partner
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a ring
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — of law
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wax — to grow
  22. band — a music group
  23. pit — in a race
  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