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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: band · mark · toast · race · nail · rest · clip · wake

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. clip — a video
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. toast — bread
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wake — a trail
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. race — a contest
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — for paper
  18. band — a music group
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. race — humankind
  22. mark — a trace
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. rest — what's left

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