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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cell — a phone
  3. band — a music group
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. band — a ring
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cell — in biology
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — army training
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. race — humankind
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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