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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. tube — a container
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a ring
  6. squash — the sport
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. race — humankind
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cold — an illness
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. craft — boats

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