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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: mouse · fall · band · season · sharp · wind · clip · bore

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — of the year
  4. bore — to drill
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. fall — the season
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. sharp — clever
  13. clip — a video
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — in sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bore — to tire
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — to drop

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