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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. swing — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. race — the arms race
  8. swing — in golf
  9. prune — to trim
  10. race — a contest
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. snap — to click
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. swing — to play on
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — size or range
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. race — humankind
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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