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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. fork — in a road
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — a trace
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. hand — help
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. race — humankind
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — not warm
  16. race — a contest
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tube — the underground
  21. file — a document
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. tube — a container

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