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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: race · stand · present · band · wave · bat · branch · nail

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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 — humankind
  2. bat — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. present — the time now
  13. band — a music group
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. present — there
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. present — a gift
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. branch — a division
  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