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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. clip — a video
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. capital — a city
  14. pit — a hole
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pit — in a race
  22. band — a music group
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. capital — a big letter

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