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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mate — to breed
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. firm — steady
  5. press — a publisher
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. race — humankind
  8. mate — a partner
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. tube — the underground
  12. squash — the sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mate — a friend
  17. race — the arms race
  18. tube — a container
  19. bark — to shout
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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