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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rule — a law
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — the fish
  9. can — to be able to
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bound — certain
  12. race — humankind
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — a video
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. can — a tin
  18. rule — government
  19. bound — tied together
  20. can — a tin
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — a box
  23. band — a ring
  24. bound — obliged

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