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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. race — humankind
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. land — ground
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — to come down
  10. season — of the year
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. season — in sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. snap — to click
  17. tube — the underground
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. race — a contest
  21. deal — to handle
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. land — a country

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