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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: date · band · dip · arm · court · lean · wound · clip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — to sink
  3. wound — an injury
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. lean — to bend
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. date — the fruit
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — to cut
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. clip — for paper
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. court — of a king
  16. clip — a video
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. lean — thin
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. band — a ring
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. court — of law

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