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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — in a race
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — music
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tube — a container
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kick — in football
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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