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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bound — tied together
  6. tube — a container
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. band — a music group
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — low music
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bound — certain

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