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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. clip — a video
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. present — a gift
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pop — soda
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. pop — music
  10. snap — to click
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — the month
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pop — to visit
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — there
  20. march — music
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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