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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — the arms race
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — help
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. swing — to play on
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — for digging
  15. craft — boats
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. craft — a skill
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. vault — a safe
  22. band — a music group
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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