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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. race — humankind
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wound — an injury

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