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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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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: wake · stick · band · clip · suit · wave · track · chest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. band — a ring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. suit — clothes
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. suit — to fit
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. band — a music group
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. suit — in cards
  15. track — a song
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chest — a box
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wake — a trail
  24. track — a path

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