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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rush — hurry
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. race — humankind
  11. ball — a great time
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tube — the underground
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chest — a box
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ball — a dance
  24. race — a contest

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