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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rush — hurry
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. band — a music group
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. clip — to cut
  11. present — there
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. present — the time now
  16. scale — size or range
  17. band — a ring
  18. scale — in music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — a gift
  23. clip — for paper
  24. leaves — of a tree

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