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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. scale — in music
  3. squash — to crush
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — a practice
  11. face — to point toward
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. face — to confront
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. drill — army training
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — a container
  21. face — part of the head
  22. squash — the sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. race — humankind

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