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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — a container
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. race — humankind
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. race — a contest
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pitch — completely
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. staff — employees
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a match
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitch — a sports field

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