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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 · wound · root · band · stand · bass · perch · clip

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bass — low music
  3. band — a music group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. root — the cause
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — for paper
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a word
  13. stand — to bear
  14. clip — to cut
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — a video
  18. root — of a plant
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. perch — the fish
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stand — on your feet

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