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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. clip — to cut
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wind — moving air
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — moving air
  8. band — a music group
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — for paper
  19. date — the fruit
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. safe — out of danger

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