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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. rash — a series
  3. pop — soda
  4. band — a music group
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pop — music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — an amount
  14. rest — what's left
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rash — hasty
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. band — a ring
  21. rest — a break
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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