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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: bank · root · toast · face · band · wax · clip · land

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a music group
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bank — of a river
  11. clip — for paper
  12. face — to confront
  13. land — a country
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wax — to grow
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — to come down
  18. face — to point toward
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. root — the cause
  21. clip — a video
  22. root — of a word
  23. land — ground
  24. root — 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