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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mug — a face
  3. tube — a container
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. march — the month
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. march — the month
  9. rash — a series
  10. march — music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tube — the underground
  13. race — humankind
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — a contest
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rash — hasty
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — a position

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