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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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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: wave · shower · rock · plane · rash · cell · clip · band

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — to cut
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a music group
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rash — on the skin

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