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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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Word bank
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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: clip · band · row · field · trunk · key · bulb · march

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bulb — for light
  9. key — in music
  10. clip — to cut
  11. band — a ring
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — for a lock
  17. march — music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. clip — for paper
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bulb — for light
  22. row — a line
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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