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

Word bank: tube · stand · straw · mine · cap · prune · deal · race

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cap — a hat
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stand — to bear
  10. mine — for digging
  11. race — humankind
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. race — the arms race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. tube — a container
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. prune — to trim

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