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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — to protest
  7. clip — a video
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — for paper
  10. face — to point toward
  11. band — a ring
  12. court — of a king
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. drill — army training
  16. face — to confront
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stem — to come from
  19. object — a thing
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — for sport
  24. drill — the tool

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