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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. content — happy
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — an illness
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. content — the amount
  24. nail — on a finger

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