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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a ring
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — for digging
  14. band — a music group
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. hand — in cards
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bulb — for light
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a rubber band

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