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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — humankind
  3. band — a ring
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bank — for money
  9. band — a music group
  10. season — of the year
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. race — a contest
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. track — a song
  20. season — in sport
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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