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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tube — a container
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — the underground
  13. kid — child
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. lean — thin

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