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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. band — a music group
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mark — a grade
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. mark — a trace
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stand — to bear
  22. race — a contest
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. clip — a video

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