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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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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. race — a contest
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. craft — boats
  12. track — a path
  13. chest — a box
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bank — for money
  20. chest — of your body
  21. craft — a skill
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — humankind

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