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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. lean — thin
  7. rest — what's left
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a ring
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. bank — for money
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lean — to bend
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — a video
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a tool
  23. bank — of a river
  24. clip — for paper

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