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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: present · tube · race · pop · perch · cell · wake · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — a container
  3. present — the time now
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cell — a phone
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tube — the underground
  8. race — a contest
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pop — to visit
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. last — finally
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. perch — the fish
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. last — to go on
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. cell — in biology

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