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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. race — humankind
  4. tube — a container
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — to bend
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spring — of water
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. toast — bread
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stock — goods
  21. hand — help
  22. race — a contest
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. lean — thin

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