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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: mate · lean · band · suit · pop · clip · rash · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pop — soda
  3. lean — thin
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mate — a friend
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a ring
  8. pop — to visit
  9. tube — a container
  10. mate — a partner
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. suit — clothes
  13. suit — to fit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. lean — to bend
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rash — hasty
  18. clip — for paper
  19. suit — in cards
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a music group
  23. rash — a series
  24. pop — music

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