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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. charge — a price
  3. ball — a great time
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bank — for money
  6. ball — a dance
  7. sharp — clever
  8. charge — in control
  9. race — a contest
  10. bank — of a river
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. charge — electricity
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — to breed
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mate — a partner
  17. band — a music group
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — for paper
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mate — a friend
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. race — humankind

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