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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 116 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. band — a music group
  4. race — a contest
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. band — a ring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — not warm
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — the arms race
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. current — of water
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. race — humankind

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