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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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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: row · clip · scale · charge · last · band · spring · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. row — a line
  4. band — a music group
  5. spring — a coil
  6. can — a tin
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — to cut
  9. charge — a price
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. band — a ring
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — in music
  18. spring — of water
  19. clip — for paper
  20. last — final
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — a video
  23. last — to go on
  24. row — to paddle

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