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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 120 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: band · race · cold · rash · lie · present · rock · nail

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. present — a gift
  3. rock — a stone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. band — a music group
  6. rash — hasty
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. race — the arms race
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. present — the time now
  13. rock — music
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — a series
  18. race — humankind
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. band — a ring
  22. present — there
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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