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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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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: capital · nail · bass · race · racket · band · snap · ground

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — a city
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. race — the arms race
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. ground — the earth
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — a position
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a ring
  17. capital — money
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — low music
  21. ground — crushed
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. band — a music group

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