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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: ruler · last · row · tube · ball · lie · clip · band

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — a video
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — for paper
  7. row — to paddle
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ball — a dance
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. clip — to cut
  17. band — a ring
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a music group
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — finally
  23. tube — a container
  24. lie — to recline

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