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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — to wash
  12. last — to go on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. last — final
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bear — the animal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. mug — a cup
  23. band — a ring
  24. shower — rain

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