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

Word bank: band · club · leaves · rule · race · season

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — a law
  4. club — a group
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. race — a contest
  7. rule — government
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. season — in sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. season — of the year
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. race — the arms race
  15. club — for golf
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. club — for dancing
  18. band — a ring

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