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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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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: band · clip · wind · present · ruler · charge · track · file

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a music group
  4. clip — a video
  5. band — a ring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. charge — electricity
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a document
  12. track — a song
  13. wind — moving air
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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