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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: race · bark · hand · lie · pound · cap · row · band

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a ring
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. hand — help
  7. row — a line
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bark — to shout
  12. row — to paddle
  13. race — humankind
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. band — a music group
  16. cap — of ice
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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