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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. race — humankind
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lean — to bend
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — not warm
  11. tube — the underground
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — soda
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to click
  20. pass — a permit
  21. race — a contest
  22. pop — music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. tube — a container

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