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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. ground — the earth
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tube — the underground
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. present — the time now
  16. tube — a container
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. race — a contest
  20. stock — goods
  21. kick — in football
  22. race — humankind
  23. stock — shares
  24. tube — in a tire

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