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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: cold · band · toast · lash · pop · ruler · lie · race

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. band — a ring
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pop — soda
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pop — music
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. lie — to recline
  16. race — a contest
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — humankind
  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