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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. last — final
  3. wind — moving air
  4. club — for golf
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. race — a contest
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. tube — the underground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. club — for dancing
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. last — to go on
  16. race — humankind
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mine — for digging
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. can — a tin

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