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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 116 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: net · cell · rush · bay · wound · band · face · race

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. net — after costs
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. band — a ring
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. race — the arms race
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. race — a contest
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wound — an injury
  22. face — to confront
  23. net — for catching
  24. cell — in biology

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