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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — high quality
  4. court — for sport
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. band — a music group
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cue — a signal
  10. court — of law
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fine — all right
  13. court — of a king
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — to wash
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — rain
  24. wave — of the sea

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