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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 120 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: straw · band · plane · clip · file · object · wind · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — a series
  3. plane — a tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. file — a document
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. object — an aim
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. object — to protest
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. object — a thing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a music group
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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