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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rash — hasty
  6. race — the arms race
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. rash — a series
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — to grow
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. race — a contest

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