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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — a video
  6. firm — decided
  7. wake — a trail
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — music
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. band — a music group
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. firm — a company
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. firm — steady
  22. clip — for paper
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. march — the month

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