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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. club — for dancing
  3. band — a ring
  4. object — a thing
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. club — for golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. club — a group
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — an aim
  22. craft — boats
  23. object — to protest
  24. pitcher — a jug

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