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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. file — a document
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. clip — a video
  5. bound — tied together
  6. band — a music group
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bound — obliged
  9. root — of a plant
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bound — certain
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a tool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. root — the cause
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. file — a line of people
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — to cut
  24. root — of a word

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