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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. content — the amount
  3. clip — for paper
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — to go on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. band — a music group
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wake — a trail
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. content — happy
  17. last — finally
  18. file — a tool
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. can — a tin
  21. file — a document
  22. band — a ring
  23. last — final
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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