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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. track — a path
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. race — humankind
  6. charge — a price
  7. charge — in control
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — a song
  12. race — the arms race
  13. track — to keep track
  14. spring — a coil
  15. band — a music group
  16. race — a contest
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — to grow
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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