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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: race · hide · band · club · rash · object · pit · cold

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. rash — hasty
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. object — to protest
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. object — a thing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. club — a group
  11. rash — a series
  12. object — an aim
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. club — for golf
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pit — in a race
  19. race — a contest
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. band — a ring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pit — a hole

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