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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.

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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 · perch · cold · sharp · firm · fine · march

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tube — a container
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. perch — the fish
  11. firm — decided
  12. race — a contest
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — all right
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fine — high quality
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. march — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — clever
  23. march — the month
  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