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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. band — a music group
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tube — the underground
  6. race — a contest
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — the sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — to crush
  17. race — humankind
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitch — completely
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. jam — a tight spot

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