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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. last — final
  3. tube — a container
  4. race — the arms race
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. club — for golf
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. club — a group
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. race — humankind
  14. season — of the year
  15. rest — a break
  16. last — to go on
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. face — to point toward
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tube — the underground
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — a contest
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. season — in sport

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