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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: sharp · tube · bear · last · foot · race · cue · game

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cue — a signal
  5. race — a contest
  6. cue — for pool
  7. tube — a container
  8. foot — a measure
  9. tube — the underground
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. last — to go on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. last — finally
  21. cue — a hint
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. game — wild animals

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