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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stem — to come from
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — to get on
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. board — a committee
  9. squash — to crush
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — humankind
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. squash — the sport
  24. sharp — exactly

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