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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — a contest
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. object — to protest
  8. march — music
  9. chip — for betting
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ground — a position
  19. object — an aim
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. race — humankind
  22. object — a thing
  23. ground — the earth
  24. tube — a container

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