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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. band — a ring
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. race — humankind
  6. band — a music group
  7. stand — to bear
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — a video
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. clip — to cut
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tear — to rip
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — for a hammer

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