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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. clip — to cut
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. pop — music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. current — happening now
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. current — of water
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. band — a music group
  24. current — electric

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