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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 120 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: clip · lean · cap · wave · band · content · wind · root

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — thin
  9. root — of a word
  10. cap — of ice
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. band — a music group
  14. cap — a hat
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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