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

Word bank: bank · tear · band · sharp · kick · race

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. 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. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bank — for money
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bank — for money
  9. band — a ring
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kick — in football
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bank — of a river
  18. 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