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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: rule · band · drill · firm · clip · trunk · cell · lie

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. clip — a video
  8. firm — decided
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cell — in biology
  15. drill — army training
  16. band — a music group
  17. drill — a practice
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — steady
  20. rule — government
  21. cell — a phone
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. drill — the tool
  24. band — a rubber band

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