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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 116 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: march · tube · dip · chair · race · wound · pound · hide

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a leader
  6. tube — a container
  7. march — music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. march — the month

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