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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 120 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: band · race · rest · bass · bay · object · spring · cell

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. object — an aim
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. race — a contest
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. race — the arms race
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a ring
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bass — the fish
  13. object — to protest
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rest — a break
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bass — low music
  18. race — humankind
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — a phone
  22. object — a thing
  23. spring — of water
  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