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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · pound · tube · spring · cell · board

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. race — a contest
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. spring — a coil
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spring — the season
  10. tube — a container
  11. race — the arms race
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. spring — of water
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cell — a phone

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