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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — not warm
  11. file — a line of people
  12. face — to confront
  13. board — a committee
  14. race — humankind
  15. stand — to bear
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. board — to get on
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. face — to point toward
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cold — an illness

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