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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — the season
  5. chip — to eat
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spring — a coil
  8. race — humankind
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pop — music
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. band — a ring
  15. row — a line
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. race — a contest
  23. band — a music group
  24. row — to paddle

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