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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: rest · kick · stem · season · band · tube · pound · clip

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. tube — a container
  9. kick — in football
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — for paper
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. band — a music group
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. stem — to come from
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. season — in sport
  24. rest — what's left

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