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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — a short time
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — humankind
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. season — of the year
  17. spell — letters
  18. race — a contest
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rest — what's left

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