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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pit — in a race
  4. drill — the tool
  5. object — an aim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. object — a thing
  10. fork — in a road
  11. clip — a video
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cue — a hint
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. drill — army training
  16. cue — for pool
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. object — to protest
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pit — a hole

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