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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. squash — the sport
  3. race — the arms race
  4. tube — the underground
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — a container
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. swing — to play on
  10. current — of water
  11. race — humankind
  12. swing — music
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — the amount
  15. spring — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — the season
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spring — a coil
  23. race — a contest
  24. swing — in golf

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