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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: rest · mate · ground · tube · track · race · drill · wake

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. race — the arms race
  4. drill — army training
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rest — a break
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. track — a path
  19. ground — the earth
  20. tube — the underground
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rest — what's left

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