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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. staff — employees
  3. wax — to grow
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. band — a ring
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — to cut
  12. staff — a stick
  13. drill — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — army training
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. drill — a practice
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. band — a music group
  22. rush — hurry
  23. clip — a video
  24. staff — employees

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