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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. season — of the year
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. game — a match
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. lean — to bend
  13. season — in sport
  14. lean — thin
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — a contest
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rush — hurry
  22. tube — the underground
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. game — wild animals

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