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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mark — a grade
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. can — to be able to
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — farmland
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. clip — for paper
  14. court — of law
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — to cut
  17. court — for sport
  18. swing — music
  19. can — a tin
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a ring
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. can — a tin
  24. band — a music group

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