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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mug — a cup
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tube — the underground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mug — to rob
  9. tube — a container
  10. mug — a face
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. file — a tool
  16. row — a line
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. mine — for digging
  21. file — a document
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. racket — for tennis

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