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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: chest · bear · bat · object · band · fork · wax · race

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. object — an aim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. band — a music group
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a ring
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — the arms race
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — a thing

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