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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. band — a ring
  4. race — humankind
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. object — a thing
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. object — to protest
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. band — a music group
  20. object — an aim
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. pound — to hit hard

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