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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. plane — a tool
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tube — a container
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. race — humankind
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wake — a trail
  12. race — a contest
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. court — of law
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — an illness
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — for sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. tube — the underground
  24. ground — crushed

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