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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bass — the fish
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a ring
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bass — low music
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. tube — the underground
  18. stock — goods
  19. band — a music group
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. plane — a tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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