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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. clip — for paper
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — in control
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — not warm
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — electricity
  15. pass — a permit
  16. clip — a video
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bank — for money

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