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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. face — part of the head
  9. object — an aim
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. object — to protest
  16. wax — to grow
  17. root — of a plant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. object — a thing
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. clip — to cut
  22. root — the cause
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. root — of a word

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