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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: rest · pound · band · wind · race · mouse

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. band — a ring
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rest — a break
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. race — humankind
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rest — what's left

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