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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · band · cap · clip · stand · wind

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rule — government
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. band — a music group
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. band — a ring

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