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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 116 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — a stone
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — the underground
  12. race — humankind
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. capital — a city
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hand — in cards
  22. race — a contest
  23. pass — a permit
  24. race — the arms race

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