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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — a video
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — to drop
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. key — in music
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fall — the season
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitch — completely
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. scale — in music
  22. mug — a face
  23. band — a music group
  24. key — the most important part

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