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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — a lid
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. club — for dancing
  6. face — part of the head
  7. race — humankind
  8. cap — of ice
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. face — to point toward
  13. club — for golf
  14. face — to confront
  15. cap — a hat
  16. key — in music
  17. club — a group
  18. band — a music group

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