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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. band — a music group
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. race — the arms race
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — to grow
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bulb — for light
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — a contest
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. race — humankind

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