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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. tube — a container
  2. race — the arms race
  3. row — a line
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tube — the underground
  9. race — a contest
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — humankind
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. field — for sport
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — to trim
  22. straw — dry grass
  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