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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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. last — final
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — after costs
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. prune — to trim
  7. last — finally
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. last — to go on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. net — in sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. race — humankind
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stem — to come from

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