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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. spring — the season
  6. rest — a break
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. shower — rain
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — for sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rest — what's left
  17. court — of a king
  18. spring — of water
  19. rest — what's left
  20. shower — to wash
  21. spring — a coil
  22. court — of law
  23. race — the arms race
  24. snap — to click

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