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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. object — to protest
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bulb — for light
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. object — an aim
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — in football
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bulb — for light
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. object — a thing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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