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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. press — to push
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bark — to shout
  14. race — a contest
  15. club — for dancing
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. race — humankind
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. club — for golf
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — newspapers
  22. content — the amount
  23. press — a publisher
  24. club — a group

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