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

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tube — a container
  6. pit — a hole
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to click
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. lash — to lash out

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