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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. mine — for digging
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — in sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. race — the arms race
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bear — the animal
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a music group
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. net — after costs
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. plane — a tool

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