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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stem — to come from
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. ball — a dance
  9. date — the fruit
  10. clip — a video
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. swing — in golf
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ball — a great time
  16. swing — music
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. roll — a list
  23. band — a ring
  24. roll — on a roll

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