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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — a container
  4. mug — a face
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. march — the month
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. race — humankind
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — a cup
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — music
  24. mug — to rob

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