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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: tube · tear · game · race · wind · staff · cell · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — moving air
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. tube — the underground
  7. ground — a position
  8. race — humankind
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tube — a container
  11. ground — the earth
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cell — in biology
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. race — a contest
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. staff — employees
  24. tear — to rip

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