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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. race — a contest
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. capital — money
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. race — humankind
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. land — to come down
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. land — a country
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. land — ground
  23. capital — a city
  24. deal — to handle

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