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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cap · tube · pitcher · last · bulb · game · rest · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. last — to go on
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — wild animals
  8. last — final
  9. cap — of ice
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. last — finally
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. race — a contest
  19. tube — a container
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cap — a lid

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