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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. tube — a container
  3. chest — a box
  4. board — to get on
  5. field — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. key — in music
  10. race — a contest
  11. tube — the underground
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. chest — of your body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. board — a committee

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