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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. row — a line
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — a contest
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kick — in football
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mark — a grade
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — humankind
  24. mark — a trace

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