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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. tube — a container
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cap — a lid
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rash — hasty
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cap — a hat
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. cell — in biology
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. race — a contest
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — of ice
  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