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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. race — the arms race
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. race — humankind
  6. bass — the fish
  7. tube — a container
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. spell — letters
  21. bass — low music
  22. race — a contest
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. jam — in traffic

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