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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. race — a contest
  4. fine — high quality
  5. race — humankind
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spell — magic
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. kid — child
  10. fine — all right
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spell — letters

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