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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — a stone
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. row — a line
  7. shower — rain
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rock — music
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — to wash
  22. row — to paddle
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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