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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. board — to get on
  4. tube — the underground
  5. sharp — clever
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. foot — a measure
  16. tube — a container
  17. fall — the season
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fall — to drop
  21. last — final
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a committee

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