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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hand — help
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — after costs
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — in cards
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. net — for catching
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bound — certain
  24. net — in sport

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