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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. band — a music group
  4. race — humankind
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. race — the arms race
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — after costs
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tear — from crying

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