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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rush — hurry
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. craft — a skill
  15. current — happening now
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a music group
  18. current — of water
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. current — electric
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. straw — a straw man

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