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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 120 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. last — to go on
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. last — finally
  9. race — humankind
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fork — in a road
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — final
  20. mug — to rob
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. band — a ring

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