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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — humankind
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. race — a contest
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. can — to be able to
  15. kid — child
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. present — a gift
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — of water
  24. can — a tin

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