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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bulb — for light
  4. race — a contest
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rush — hurry
  7. band — a music group
  8. field — farmland
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — humankind
  15. field — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. band — a ring
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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