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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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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: wind · cold · pass · root · clip · stick · wake · band

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — an illness
  4. clip — a video
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a music group
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a plant
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a word
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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