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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: foot · swing · tube · cold · bat · race · mate · staff

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. swing — in golf
  6. tube — a container
  7. staff — employees
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mate — to breed
  13. race — a contest
  14. mate — a partner
  15. race — humankind
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. staff — a stick
  21. swing — music
  22. foot — a measure
  23. swing — to play on
  24. staff — employees

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