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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: race · perch · firm · march · ground · press · tube · game

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — the month
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. press — newspapers
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. firm — a company
  7. press — a publisher
  8. march — music
  9. tube — the underground
  10. march — the month
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — the fish
  13. game — a match
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. press — to push
  18. race — a contest
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ground — a position
  21. firm — decided
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. firm — steady

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