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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. present — the time now
  8. band — a ring
  9. row — to paddle
  10. present — there
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. present — a gift
  15. wax — to grow
  16. current — electric
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. spring — a coil
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. race — the arms race
  21. current — of water
  22. row — a line
  23. date — the fruit
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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