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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. race — humankind
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ball — a great time
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — a video
  8. tube — a container
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stock — shares
  13. ball — a dance
  14. craft — boats
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. court — for sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. court — of law
  21. race — a contest
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — goods

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