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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bat — the animal
  4. band — a ring
  5. rush — hurry
  6. land — a country
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — to come down
  9. last — final
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cue — a hint
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cue — a signal
  23. race — humankind
  24. band — a music group

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