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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — child
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — a match
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. last — to go on

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