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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: ground · bear · face · pound · tube · game · wake · race

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. tube — the underground
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — a match
  12. face — to point toward
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. face — part of the head
  16. race — a contest
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bear — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. ground — a position
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wake — before a funeral

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