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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: kid · net · race · spell · band · cabinet · bear · prune

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — the arms race
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spell — letters
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. kid — child
  15. race — humankind
  16. net — after costs
  17. spell — a short time
  18. race — a contest
  19. net — in sport
  20. bear — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — magic
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. net — for catching

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