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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: fine · rule · mine · stand · band · snap · bulb · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — for paper
  5. snap — to click
  6. bulb — for light
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bulb — for light
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — a video
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stand — to bear
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fine — all right
  21. rule — a law
  22. band — a ring
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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