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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rule — government
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — a container
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — an illness
  19. race — the arms race
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rule — a law
  24. wax — to grow

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