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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — a tin
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — a video
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — to cut
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — for paper
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. row — a line
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. vault — a safe
  16. can — to be able to
  17. band — a ring
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. row — to paddle
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. band — a music group
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. spring — a coil
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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