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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. can — a tin
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. swing — to play on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. can — to be able to
  15. sharp — clever
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. hand — help
  19. tube — a container
  20. can — a tin
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cold — not warm
  24. hand — in cards

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