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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. cap — of ice
  12. race — the arms race
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. net — after costs
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. track — to keep track
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a ring
  21. net — for catching
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. band — a rubber band

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