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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — to come down
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. stand — to bear
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. shower — to wash
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. chair — to sit on

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