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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. band — a ring
  12. track — a song
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. branch — a division
  24. track — a path

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