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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pit — in a race
  3. net — after costs
  4. band — a ring
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. net — in sport
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. net — for catching
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. clip — a video
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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