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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — temperature
  5. spring — the season
  6. craft — a skill
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. band — a music group
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. race — humankind
  15. spring — of water
  16. race — a contest
  17. craft — boats
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pass — a permit
  20. club — for golf
  21. degree — from a university
  22. club — for dancing
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — a group

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