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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spell — magic
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cue — for pool
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — money
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bear — the animal
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a ring
  24. cue — a signal

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