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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: band · wind · hide · fall · club · mate · pound · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a music group
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. race — a contest
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fall — the season
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for golf
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — a group
  18. mate — a friend
  19. club — for dancing
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pound — a weight
  24. hide — to keep secret

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