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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. bear — the animal
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a music group
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. craft — boats
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. field — for sport
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. field — a subject
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. craft — a skill
  23. band — a ring
  24. chip — for betting

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