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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a tool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tube — the underground
  17. squash — the sport
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. clip — a video
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tube — a container
  24. squash — to crush

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