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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: fall · band · file · race · wave · mine · court · foot

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. race — a contest
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fall — the season
  11. court — of law
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. court — of a king
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fall — to drop
  16. file — a document
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — humankind
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. court — for sport
  22. file — a tool
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. race — the arms race

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