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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. court — of a king
  4. cap — a lid
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — to cut
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — of law
  10. bore — to drill
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bore — to tire
  14. snap — to click
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. lean — thin
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. court — for sport
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bore — gave birth

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