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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a ring
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. shower — to wash
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — the arms race
  16. drill — army training
  17. shower — rain
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wound — an injury

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