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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: kid · band · wind · race · root · ball · hand · press

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. press — to push
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. root — of a word
  8. press — newspapers
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a music group
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — a publisher
  13. root — of a plant
  14. hand — help
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — child
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. root — the cause
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a dance

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