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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — a contest
  3. lean — to bend
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. lean — thin
  7. race — the arms race
  8. band — a music group
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. toast — bread
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. race — humankind
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — to eat
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chip — for betting

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