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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: clip · band · stem · object · file · drill · spring · bulb

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — to protest
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — army training
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. file — a line of people
  17. object — a thing
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a tool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. object — an aim
  24. stem — of a plant

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