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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bear — the animal
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. band — a music group
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. clip — for paper
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. capital — money
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. capital — a city
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. ball — a dance

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