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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. swing — music
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tube — the underground
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — a contest
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. race — humankind
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — to play on
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. lie — to recline
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — in music
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — size or range

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