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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: season · tear · race · band · fork · mouse

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. fork — in a road
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. season — of the year
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. race — humankind
  12. season — in sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — a contest
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mouse — the animal
  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