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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. band — a music group
  6. ball — a great time
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ball — a dance
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. race — a contest
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a ring
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. race — humankind

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