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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — the arms race
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. snap — to click
  9. rash — a series
  10. race — humankind
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. club — a group
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. race — a contest
  21. club — for golf
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. club — for dancing

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