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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — humankind
  4. rash — a series
  5. rush — hurry
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tube — the underground
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — a contest
  20. chair — a leader
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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