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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — a video
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stock — shares
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — a coil
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. clip — for paper
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. spring — of water
  23. stock — goods
  24. spring — the season

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