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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — a country
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wax — to grow
  7. suit — in cards
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. clip — for paper
  10. suit — clothes
  11. land — to come down
  12. lie — to recline
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — ground
  18. clip — to cut
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — a video
  22. suit — to fit
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. nail — for a hammer

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