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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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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. club — a group
  3. hand — help
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — to paddle
  6. race — the arms race
  7. club — for golf
  8. tube — a container
  9. race — a contest
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cold — an illness
  13. can — a tin
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. club — for dancing
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. can — a tin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. can — to be able to
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. row — a line

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