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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cue — a hint
  3. last — final
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — to paddle
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — a line
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. race — humankind
  13. wake — a trail
  14. race — the arms race
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. last — finally
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a music group
  20. race — a contest
  21. last — to go on
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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