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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: sharp · rest · wave · mate · object · clip · bore · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. clip — a video
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. object — an aim
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bore — to drill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mate — a friend
  15. object — to protest
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — for paper
  19. object — a thing
  20. clip — to cut
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rest — a break
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bore — gave birth

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