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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 120 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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. lie — to recline
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. band — a music group
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. branch — a division
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. race — humankind
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — a contest
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — child
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — to tease
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. branch — of a tree

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