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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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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: wake · band · hand · scale · land · pop · race · bound

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. race — a contest
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — humankind
  7. hand — help
  8. bound — certain
  9. pop — soda
  10. band — a music group
  11. scale — size or range
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pop — to visit
  16. scale — in music
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pop — music
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. bound — tied together
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — obliged

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