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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. land — to come down
  2. firm — decided
  3. race — humankind
  4. season — in sport
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tear — from crying
  7. firm — a company
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. land — ground
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. land — a country
  13. firm — steady
  14. pitch — completely
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. race — a contest
  21. season — of the year
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tear — to rip
  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