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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: snap · race · pop · trunk · row · chair · band · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pop — to visit
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. bear — the animal
  15. row — a line
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — music
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — the arms race
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a music group
  22. pop — soda
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. band — a ring

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