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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — a trail
  5. band — a ring
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. craft — boats
  8. drill — army training
  9. mate — a friend
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. clip — a video
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. drill — a practice
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pass — a permit
  24. wind — to turn a key

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