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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: squash · band · pop · ball · fall · saw · wax · clip

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fall — to drop
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. band — a ring
  8. fall — the season
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a dance
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pop — music
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wax — to grow
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — to crush
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pop — soda

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