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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: bear · band · rest · staff · race · stick · game · net

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. band — a ring
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — after costs
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. race — the arms race
  14. net — in sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. race — humankind
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — for catching
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a match
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  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