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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 120 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: deal · mouse · band · race · clip · cap · cell · tear

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. clip — to cut
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. band — a music group
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. clip — a video
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cap — of ice
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — a lid
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cap — a hat
  24. 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