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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chest — a box
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mark — a grade
  8. chest — of your body
  9. charge — electricity
  10. race — humankind
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. root — the cause
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. band — a music group
  24. pass — to spend time

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