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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: band · mate · bulb · coach · clip · object · pitcher · racket

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — a video
  3. object — a thing
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bulb — for light
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. mate — to breed
  12. band — a ring
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. object — to protest
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — an aim
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a music group

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