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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. kid — to tease
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — to rip
  7. spring — of water
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lean — to bend
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tube — a container
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — a coil
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to click
  17. lean — thin
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — the underground
  24. sharp — with an edge

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