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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. present — there
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. present — a gift
  7. bulb — for light
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bulb — for light
  11. branch — a division
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — music
  14. can — a tin
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. can — to be able to
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. rock — a stone
  20. scale — size or range
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. present — the time now
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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