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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. hand — in cards
  3. race — the arms race
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chest — a box
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a music group
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. foot — a measure
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. race — a contest
  20. band — a ring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — a break
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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