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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pass — a permit
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. snap — to click
  6. bank — of a river
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bank — for money
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. scale — in music
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. race — humankind
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — clever
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. race — the arms race
  24. scale — size or range

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