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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 124 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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. file — a tool
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a document
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tube — a container
  22. chip — to eat
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. chip — for betting

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