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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: suit · pit · clip · mark · band · mine · cell · perch

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. suit — in cards
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a ring
  8. perch — the fish
  9. suit — to fit
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — for paper
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. suit — clothes
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. band — a music group
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cell — in a prison

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