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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rock — music
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rock — a stone
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. court — for sport
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cue — for pool
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — the arms race
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — an explosive

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