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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: tube · race · temple · wound · snap · spell · root · press

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spell — letters
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. spell — a short time
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — an injury
  9. press — a publisher
  10. race — the arms race
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. race — a contest
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — an injury
  16. root — of a plant
  17. tube — the underground
  18. root — of a word
  19. spell — magic
  20. press — to push
  21. snap — to click
  22. root — the cause
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. temple — side of the head

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