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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. race — a contest
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — from a university
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — soda
  8. race — humankind
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. band — a ring
  11. face — to point toward
  12. race — the arms race
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. club — a group
  17. toast — bread
  18. club — for dancing
  19. pop — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. swing — in golf
  22. face — to confront
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — part of the head

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