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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — a video
  4. drill — army training
  5. present — a gift
  6. band — a music group
  7. drill — a practice
  8. present — the time now
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. deal — to handle
  16. present — there
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. deal — a big deal

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