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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: present · band · stem · board · wound · bass · drill · clip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. clip — a video
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a ring
  9. drill — a practice
  10. present — there
  11. bass — the fish
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. board — to get on
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — the tool
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. drill — army training
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wound — an injury
  24. board — a committee

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