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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. field — for sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mate — to breed
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. craft — boats
  8. race — a contest
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. race — humankind
  11. tube — a container
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. field — farmland
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. craft — a skill
  21. toast — bread
  22. field — a subject
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. trunk — of a tree

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