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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stand — to bear
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. drill — army training
  5. sharp — clever
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bulb — for light
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — a practice
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. last — final
  19. clip — a video
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. band — a ring
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — to go on
  24. game — a match

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