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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rock — music
  3. race — a contest
  4. band — a music group
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. rock — a stone
  10. race — humankind
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. net — after costs
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. wake — a trail
  18. net — for catching
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. race — the arms race

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