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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. firm — a company
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. shower — rain
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — of law
  9. band — a music group
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. firm — steady
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. race — humankind
  16. stand — to bear
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. court — of a king
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stand — for spectators

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