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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. squash — to crush
  7. tube — a container
  8. kid — child
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rest — a break
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — the underground
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ball — a dance
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. race — a contest
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ball — a great time
  23. race — humankind
  24. rest — what's left

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