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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a ring
  8. mark — a grade
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — for digging
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. race — humankind

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