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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 · wind · rock · cell · ground · rush · can · race

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — music
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. band — a ring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — humankind
  13. rock — a stone
  14. band — a music group
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. can — a tin
  17. ground — a position
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. band — a rubber band

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