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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 ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bank — for money
  3. race — the arms race
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a music group
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bank — for money
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. chest — of your body

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