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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — low music
  9. tube — a container
  10. suit — clothes
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bass — the fish
  18. tear — to rip
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. tube — the underground
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — in cards
  23. scale — in music
  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