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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. swing — to play on
  6. race — a contest
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — to cut
  10. swing — in golf
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. race — humankind
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — a video
  21. swing — music
  22. rule — government
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rule — to rule out

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