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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. clip — a video
  4. spring — a coil
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spring — the season
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — to drop
  10. drill — army training
  11. tube — a container
  12. spring — of water
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — a contest
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ground — the earth
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tube — the underground

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