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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mug — to rob
  3. rule — a law
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. clip — a video
  11. band — a music group
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mug — a cup
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. chest — of your body
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mug — a face
  24. clip — to cut

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