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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. firm — steady
  4. race — a contest
  5. firm — decided
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. race — humankind
  11. tube — a container
  12. firm — a company
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — the arms race
  15. clip — a video
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. clip — for paper
  23. file — a document
  24. tube — the underground

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