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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: race · mine · wound · dip · band · cell · deal · stand

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. race — the arms race
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. stand — to bear
  5. race — a contest
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cell — a phone
  9. band — a ring
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a music group
  17. race — humankind
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — in biology
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. stand — for spectators

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