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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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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: band · scale · nail · fine · chest · race · cue · rush

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chest — a box
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — in music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cue — a hint
  12. band — a ring
  13. cue — for pool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. fine — all right
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fine — high quality
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — size or range

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