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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: arm · race · mate · fine · band · squash · mine · wind

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a music group
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. squash — the sport
  10. race — a contest
  11. band — a ring
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. mate — to breed
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mine — for digging
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mate — a friend

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