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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: present · band · scale · fork · wake · race

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. race — a contest
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. race — humankind
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — there
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. race — the arms race
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fork — in a road
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. band — a ring
  18. fork — to eat with

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