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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pound — a weight
  3. race — humankind
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tube — a container
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spring — of water
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — the season
  14. capital — a city
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tear — to rip
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. race — a contest
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. tube — the underground

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