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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wind — moving air
  3. can — a tin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the fish
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — low music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — humankind
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — the underground
  21. can — a tin
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. can — to be able to
  24. key — for a lock

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