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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — a video
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. file — a tool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mug — to rob
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mug — a face
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. mug — a cup
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rest — a break

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