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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. snap — to click
  3. band — a ring
  4. track — a path
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. track — a song
  8. season — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. club — a group
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — humankind
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rule — government
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. track — to keep track
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. season — of the year
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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