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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fine — all right
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rest — what's left
  6. net — in sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. net — for catching
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spring — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tube — a container
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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