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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. net — in sport
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the fish
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bass — low music
  10. rule — a law
  11. cue — for pool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a music group
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. rule — government
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. net — for catching
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — after costs

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