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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · race · wind · band · mate · cabinet

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. band — a music group
  7. mate — to breed
  8. race — a contest
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mate — a partner
  11. band — a ring
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a rubber band

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