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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. band — a ring
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. clip — a video
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bass — low music
  12. band — a music group
  13. bulb — for light
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bass — the fish
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wave — with your hand

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