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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. object — to protest
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tube — the underground
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — a thing
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bore — to drill
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. kid — child
  20. bore — to tire
  21. race — a contest
  22. kid — to tease
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. chair — a professorship

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