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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — a contest
  13. band — a ring
  14. chair — a leader
  15. key — in music
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. race — humankind
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. band — a music group

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