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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. charge — electricity
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. shower — rain
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. charge — a price
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — in control
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — to come from
  19. band — a ring
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — to wash
  22. race — humankind
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rest — a break

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