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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. club — a group
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. object — to protest
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — an aim
  7. clip — a video
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. clip — for paper
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. scale — in music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. club — for dancing
  15. band — a ring
  16. club — for golf
  17. band — a music group
  18. rash — a series
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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