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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 116 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: trunk · race · last · mine · bowl · can · band · scale

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. last — to go on
  4. scale — size or range
  5. can — to be able to
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. race — a contest
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. band — a music group
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. scale — in music
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. race — humankind
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. race — the arms race
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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