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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — to visit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. club — for golf
  10. pop — music
  11. race — a contest
  12. band — a ring
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pop — soda
  19. wax — to grow
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — to paddle
  24. club — for dancing

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