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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — a container
  3. mate — a partner
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. mate — to breed
  7. row — a line
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pop — soda
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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