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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · fine · band · root · bowl · date · sharp · clip

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — for paper
  4. root — the cause
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. root — of a plant
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wound — an injury
  12. clip — a video
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. root — of a word
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. sharp — clever
  19. date — the fruit
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — a penalty
  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