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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bass — the fish
  6. suit — to fit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. suit — clothes
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bass — low music
  13. suit — in cards
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — a country
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. race — humankind

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