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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. kid — to tease
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. club — a group
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — a position
  17. deal — to handle
  18. club — for golf
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. ground — crushed
  21. club — for dancing
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. ground — the earth
  24. kid — child

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