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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tube — a container
  5. tear — to rip
  6. race — a contest
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. race — humankind
  9. field — a subject
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. toast — bread

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