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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 · fork · chest · rush · roll · clip · mouse · pop

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. roll — a cake
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pop — soda
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fork — in a road
  10. chest — a box
  11. roll — a list
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — to cut
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. clip — a video
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pop — music
  24. rush — to hurry

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