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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chip — to eat
  4. tube — the underground
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bass — the fish
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. court — for sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bass — low music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hand — help
  20. court — of law
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chip — for betting
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — to rip

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