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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. court — of law
  3. last — finally
  4. court — of a king
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. field — farmland
  8. mug — to rob
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. tube — the underground
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — a face
  20. court — for sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — a subject
  24. nail — for a hammer

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