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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. march — the month
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — music
  5. tube — a container
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — from a university
  10. race — humankind
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. object — an aim
  17. degree — an amount
  18. object — to protest
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tube — the underground
  21. object — a thing
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. file — a line of people

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