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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — hasty
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rash — a series
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chest — a box
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chest — of your body
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — to cut

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