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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. race — a contest
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. race — the arms race
  13. can — a tin
  14. race — humankind
  15. bound — certain
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. can — to be able to
  19. band — a ring
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. bound — obliged
  24. can — a tin

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