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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · rock · march · tube · clip · band · present · temple

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — the time now
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — a container
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. present — there
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. band — a ring
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. band — a music group
  16. present — a gift
  17. march — the month
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. march — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. shower — rain
  24. rock — music

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