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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 124 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — the arms race
  3. club — a group
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — final
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. last — to go on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. club — for dancing
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — a division
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. club — for golf
  23. band — a ring
  24. last — finally

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