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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. season — of the year
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. race — the arms race
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. race — a contest
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a music group
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. rule — government
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. band — a ring
  24. dip — to sink

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