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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cold — an illness
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cold — not warm
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. board — a committee
  14. rash — a series
  15. scale — size or range
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. scale — in music
  22. board — to get on
  23. chip — to eat
  24. straw — a straw man

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