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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: last · stick · band · bowl · bay · clip · saw · content

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. clip — a video
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. last — final
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. clip — to cut
  11. content — the amount
  12. last — finally
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. band — a ring
  15. clip — for paper
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. saw — the tool
  23. last — to go on
  24. bowl — to roll

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