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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: wave · rule · object · roll · band · clip · rock · fork

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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. rock — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. object — to protest
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. clip — for paper
  6. roll — a list
  7. object — a thing
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rule — government
  13. band — a ring
  14. fork — in a road
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rock — a stone
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. roll — a cake
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — a law
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. object — an aim
  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