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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 120 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. season — in sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. band — a music group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — of the year
  8. band — a ring
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. race — a contest
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — final
  20. rash — a series
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. club — for golf
  24. rash — hasty

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