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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a line of people
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. tube — the underground
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stand — to bear
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. file — a tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. file — a document

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