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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
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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: date · board · clip · kick · land · mine · band · wax

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. board — a committee
  8. date — the fruit
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kick — in football
  14. band — a ring
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a music group
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — a country
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. land — ground
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — to come down

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