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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · band · clip · chair · stick · spring · wound · present

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. can — to be able to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. present — a gift
  9. spring — of water
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — the season
  13. present — the time now
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. can — a tin
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. band — a ring
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — there
  24. can — a tin

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