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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — wild animals
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. race — a contest
  8. game — a match
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — to push
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. press — newspapers
  13. plane — a tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. race — the arms race
  18. game — a kind of play

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