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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: band · pop · lie · rock · leaves · clip · kid · drill

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pop — soda
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — to cut
  6. kid — child
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pop — music
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — a video
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a music group
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a ring
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pop — to visit

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