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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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Word bank
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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 · board · plane · cue · season · pop · band · tear

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — a committee
  7. pop — soda
  8. season — of the year
  9. cue — a signal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — to get on
  15. band — a ring
  16. season — in sport
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. race — humankind
  19. pop — music
  20. race — the arms race
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. pop — to visit
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. plane — a tool

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