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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. drill — army training
  3. clip — for paper
  4. face — to confront
  5. drill — the tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a music group
  9. shower — rain
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a ring
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. shower — to wash
  14. drill — a practice
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. face — part of the head
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pass — a permit
  21. face — to point toward
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. clip — a video

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