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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a ring
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rash — hasty
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — a video
  21. rash — a series
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. band — a music group

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