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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: object · rush · face · coach · present · clip · band · bound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. present — the time now
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. present — a gift
  6. face — to point toward
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — to protest
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — there
  11. band — a music group
  12. object — a thing
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. face — part of the head
  19. object — an aim
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. band — a rubber band

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