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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — the animal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. fall — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cue — a signal
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. cue — a hint
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stand — to bear
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pound — to hit hard

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