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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. band — a ring
  7. rash — a series
  8. band — a music group
  9. club — for golf
  10. rash — hasty
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. present — there
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. present — the time now
  16. clip — for paper
  17. land — to come down
  18. present — a gift
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. can — a tin
  24. club — for dancing

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