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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a music group
  5. staff — employees
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. season — in sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. roll — a cake
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chip — for betting
  14. band — a ring
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. lean — to bend
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pop — soda
  20. roll — a list
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. staff — a stick
  24. chip — to eat

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