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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. race — humankind
  5. ball — a great time
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. ball — a dance
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. row — a line
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — to paddle
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. leaves — of a tree

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