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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — a video
  4. firm — a company
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. scale — in music
  9. band — a ring
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — a country
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — to come down
  15. firm — steady
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — to cut
  18. scale — size or range
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. firm — decided
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — ground

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