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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. race — a contest
  3. court — for sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — in music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — of law
  10. tube — a container
  11. court — of a king
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — for light
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. race — the arms race
  21. squash — the sport
  22. sharp — clever
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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