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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 · date · sharp · stem · wound · can · game · clip

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. clip — to cut
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. game — wild animals
  6. can — a tin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a ring
  10. clip — for paper
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — a video
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. stem — of a plant

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