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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. saw — the tool
  4. craft — boats
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chair — a leader
  9. craft — a skill
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. band — a ring
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. prune — to trim
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. saw — the tool
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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