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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. face — to confront
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. band — a music group
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. face — to point toward
  17. race — humankind
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — the arms race
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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