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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lie — to recline
  12. race — humankind
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tube — a container
  17. field — a subject
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rush — hurry
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. race — a contest
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. tube — in a tire

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