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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.

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: tube · rash · wound · snap · pitcher · game · race · scale

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. scale — size or range
  3. game — a match
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. scale — in music
  20. snap — to click
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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