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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tear — from crying
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. race — a contest
  18. ground — a position
  19. race — humankind
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tear — to rip

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