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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. race — the arms race
  6. staff — employees
  7. band — a ring
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — a coil
  10. clip — for paper
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a music group
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. race — a contest
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  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