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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. last — to go on
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fork — in a road
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. last — finally
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. season — of the year
  21. tube — the underground
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. season — in sport

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