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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tube — the underground
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spell — letters
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. race — humankind
  10. tube — a container
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. shower — rain
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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