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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — for paper
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. clip — to cut
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — a video
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. charge — electricity
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. charge — in control
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — clever

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