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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bound — obliged
  3. clip — for paper
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. firm — steady
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. prune — to trim
  16. band — a ring
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. clip — to cut
  20. firm — a company
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — a video
  23. bound — tied together
  24. firm — decided

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