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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. season — in sport
  3. swing — music
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — humankind
  8. object — an aim
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. squash — the sport
  15. roll — a cake
  16. object — a thing
  17. swing — in golf
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — to play on
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tube — a container

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