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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. game — a match
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. clip — a video
  10. game — wild animals
  11. clip — to cut
  12. race — a contest
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. race — humankind
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a music group
  21. race — the arms race
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. saw — the tool

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