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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: sharp · staff · club · race · bore · cold · present · band

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a music group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. present — the time now
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. staff — a stick
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. staff — employees
  12. club — a group
  13. race — the arms race
  14. band — a ring
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. present — a gift
  18. sharp — clever
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. present — there
  23. race — humankind
  24. sharp — with an edge

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