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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — the season
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — of water
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. lean — to bend
  16. chest — of your body
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a music group
  21. race — the arms race
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — for a hammer

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