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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 116 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: firm · lean · clip · shower · content · club · coach · band

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — rain
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — for paper
  6. firm — decided
  7. club — for dancing
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. club — for golf
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lean — thin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — a video
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. firm — steady
  20. lean — to bend
  21. club — a group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. content — the amount

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