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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 116 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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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: snap · clip · fall · bay · wound · band · can · plane

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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 ring
  2. clip — to cut
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fall — to drop
  6. can — a tin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. snap — to click
  12. wound — an injury
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fall — the season
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  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