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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. game — wild animals
  8. last — final
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. last — to go on
  11. race — humankind
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. game — a match
  15. band — a music group
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — finally
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rush — hurry
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a ring
  24. bulb — of a plant

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