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

Word bank: date · cold · pass · ground · tube · club · race · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — humankind
  4. ground — a position
  5. present — the time now
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — not warm
  11. race — the arms race
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. club — for golf
  18. present — a gift
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — a contest
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. date — on the calendar

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