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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kick — in football
  3. tube — a container
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. press — a publisher
  8. spring — the season
  9. press — to push
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spring — of water
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fine — all right
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — in a tire

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