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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. key — in music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. object — a thing
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. object — to protest
  8. key — for a lock
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — an aim
  16. key — the most important part
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — humankind
  24. band — a ring

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