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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: jam · stick · pound · racket · sharp · band · race · stem

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. race — a contest
  11. band — a music group
  12. sharp — clever
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. race — the arms race
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. stem — of a plant

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