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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 · content · chest · club · spell · band · present · wax

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. club — a group
  3. band — a music group
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spell — magic
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wax — to grow
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — a video
  13. chest — of your body
  14. club — for dancing
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — a gift
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. band — a ring
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — for golf

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