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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rest — what's left
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. spring — the season
  5. tube — the underground
  6. stand — to bear
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. club — for golf
  9. rest — what's left
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fork — in a road
  13. tube — a container
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — child
  17. rest — a break
  18. snap — to click
  19. club — a group
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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