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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: stand · club · racket · cold · arm · band · race · roll

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. race — humankind
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. roll — a cake
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. band — a music group
  18. club — a group
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. roll — a list

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