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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — to cut
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. can — a tin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. can — to be able to
  9. hand — help
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bulb — for light
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bat — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — a tin
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — in cards

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