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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — humankind
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a music group
  8. race — a contest
  9. pop — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. shower — rain
  12. craft — boats
  13. present — the time now
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pop — soda
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — there
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pop — to visit

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