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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. club — for golf
  4. mate — to breed
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wind — moving air
  10. race — humankind
  11. drill — the tool
  12. snap — to click
  13. club — for dancing
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tube — a container
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — army training
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mate — a friend
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. club — a group
  24. mate — a partner

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