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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ball — a dance
  3. race — humankind
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. band — a ring
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. last — finally
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bark — to shout
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. race — a contest
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — in music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a music group
  23. fall — the season
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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