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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: clip · cap · ball · pitcher · stick · band · perch · rule

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — the fish
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rule — a law
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. band — a music group
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a ring
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rule — government

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