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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — humankind
  5. fine — all right
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — a container
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — the arms race
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. fine — high quality
  15. race — a contest
  16. court — of law
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — of a king
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — for sport

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