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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cue — a hint
  3. tube — the underground
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. race — a contest
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. game — a match
  10. cue — for pool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — a box
  20. cue — a signal
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. race — humankind

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