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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: ruler · craft · lash · clip · mate · spring · tear · band

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. clip — a video
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. band — a ring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tear — from crying
  11. craft — boats
  12. mate — to breed
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. spring — the season
  18. mate — a friend
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spring — of water
  22. craft — a skill
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tear — to rip

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