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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. race — a contest
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — the underground
  5. present — there
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — child
  12. board — a committee
  13. present — the time now
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. drill — the tool
  16. race — humankind
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. present — a gift
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. board — to get on
  24. lean — thin

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