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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. race — humankind
  4. spell — a short time
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spell — letters
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. capital — money
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. date — the fruit
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — a city
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spell — magic

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