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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fork — in a road
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a match
  11. deal — to handle
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rule — a law
  18. tube — a container
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tube — the underground

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