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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. spell — a short time
  4. race — the arms race
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. race — humankind
  12. spell — letters
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. spell — magic
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — to shout
  18. net — after costs
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — a contest

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