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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. suit — to fit
  5. band — a ring
  6. suit — clothes
  7. race — humankind
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. race — a contest
  17. suit — in cards
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. track — to keep track
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — a video
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — for paper
  24. track — a path

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