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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: bat · band · ruler · chip · wave · race

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. band — a music group
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chip — for betting
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. race — humankind
  18. ruler — for measuring

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