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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. race — humankind
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — in football
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — a contest
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. spring — the season
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bound — certain
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pitch — completely
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. race — the arms race

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