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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tube — a container
  8. race — humankind
  9. mug — a face
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. mug — a cup
  17. present — there
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mug — to rob
  21. race — a contest
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stem — a stem cell

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