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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. race — a contest
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. kick — in football
  5. cell — in biology
  6. current — of water
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — humankind
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. current — happening now
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. race — the arms race
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. current — electric

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