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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 116 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. firm — decided
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a ring
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. present — a gift
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. band — a music group
  17. field — for sport
  18. present — the time now
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — farmland
  23. tube — a container
  24. pound — to hit hard

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