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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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Word bank
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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — a container
  3. kid — to tease
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. race — humankind
  12. cold — not warm
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pass — a permit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. race — a contest
  24. tube — the underground

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