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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a match
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. race — humankind
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stock — shares
  13. snap — to click
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. tube — the underground
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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