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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — a trace
  3. band — a music group
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. clip — a video
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. last — to go on
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — final
  14. hand — help
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — to cut
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. key — for a lock
  21. band — a ring
  22. branch — a division
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. band — a rubber band

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