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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. roll — a list
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. roll — a cake
  24. race — the arms race

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