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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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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: wave · clip · band · fine · craft · root · trunk · cold

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. band — a music group
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a ring
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. clip — to cut

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