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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: tube · rock · net · rest · band · clip · kid · ruler

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. band — a music group
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tube — a container
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. net — for catching
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — the underground
  22. kid — child
  23. net — after costs
  24. rest — what's left

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