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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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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — for sport
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a ring
  6. race — a contest
  7. ball — a great time
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — a subject
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — farmland
  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