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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bound — obliged
  4. tube — a container
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cap — a lid
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. race — humankind
  11. fork — in a road
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bound — certain
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. scale — in music
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rash — a series
  21. cap — a hat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. scale — for weighing

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