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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. face — part of the head
  4. clip — to cut
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. prune — to trim
  14. clip — a video
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — the fruit
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — to point toward
  20. band — a music group
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. face — to confront

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