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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: ruler · wake · shower · tear · clip · band · arm · fan

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. clip — for paper
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. tear — to rip
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. shower — rain
  19. clip — a video
  20. band — a ring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a music group
  24. shower — to wash

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