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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. band — a music group
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. race — humankind
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wind — moving air
  10. race — a contest
  11. mark — a grade
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. band — a ring
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mark — a trace
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bass — low music
  18. current — happening now
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. current — electric
  24. current — of water

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