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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — music
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cap — a lid
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a hat
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — a container
  20. tear — to rip
  21. swing — in golf
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tear — from crying
  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