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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. field — for sport
  5. lean — thin
  6. court — of law
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — the arms race
  9. tube — the underground
  10. race — humankind
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. race — a contest
  21. court — of a king
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. court — for sport

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