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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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Word bank
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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: band · date · bulb · march · clip · stick

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — to cut
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bulb — for light
  11. march — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. date — the fruit
  16. band — a ring
  17. bulb — for light
  18. date — on the calendar

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