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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — a line
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. drill — a practice
  23. prune — to trim
  24. clip — for paper

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