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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: present · toast · band · plane · bound · file · pound · clip

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. band — a music group
  3. toast — bread
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — to cut
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. band — a ring
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a document
  13. clip — a video
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — certain
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. present — there
  19. pound — a weight
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. band — a rubber band

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