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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. scale — in music
  4. swing — music
  5. race — humankind
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — to sink
  15. band — a ring
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — to come from
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chair — a leader
  23. scale — size or range
  24. tear — to rip

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