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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — humankind
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tube — a container
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bass — low music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — from a university
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. race — a contest
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. fall — the season
  24. band — a ring

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