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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: face · rule · race · bowl · pound · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. face — part of the head
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rule — a law
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — humankind
  7. rule — government
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. band — a ring
  15. face — to confront
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pound — a weight
  18. race — the arms race

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