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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 · net · mark · race · cold · swing · foot · wave

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — humankind
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. net — in sport
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. net — after costs
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. mark — a trace
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — a container
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mark — a grade
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tube — the underground

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