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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. band — a ring
  3. track — a path
  4. clip — a video
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lean — thin
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. track — a song
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chest — a box
  12. bass — the fish
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — for pool
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a music group
  24. ruler — a monarch

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