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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. pop — soda
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tube — the underground
  12. race — humankind
  13. mine — for digging
  14. race — a contest
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — a measure
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — music
  24. tube — a container

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