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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. race — humankind
  4. pound — a weight
  5. row — a line
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. race — a contest
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tube — a container
  14. deal — to handle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. rush — hurry
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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