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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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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: game · pound · season · race · cold · saw · tube · ruler

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. tube — the underground
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — the arms race
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. race — a contest
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. race — humankind
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. game — a match
  24. pound — to hit hard

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