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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — a video
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. race — humankind
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stock — shares
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — the arms race
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bulb — for light
  22. swing — music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — in a tire

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