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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — a video
  4. band — a ring
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. last — final
  14. snap — to click
  15. last — finally
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — to go on
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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