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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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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 · fork · wave · court · race · cue · clip · band

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. clip — a video
  3. band — a ring
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. court — of a king
  8. cue — a hint
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cue — a signal
  11. race — humankind
  12. band — a music group
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. fork — in a road
  19. court — of law
  20. race — the arms race
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cue — for pool
  23. race — a contest
  24. fork — a garden tool

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