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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. last — finally
  3. race — humankind
  4. mark — a grade
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mark — a trace
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. last — final
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — a contest
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kick — in football
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ball — a round shape

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