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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bank — of a river
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — a law
  10. scale — in music
  11. clip — a video
  12. bank — for money
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bank — for money

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