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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. sharp — clever
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. band — a music group
  5. race — a contest
  6. scale — in music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. last — finally
  9. race — humankind
  10. band — a ring
  11. season — of the year
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. race — the arms race
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. scale — size or range
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — final

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