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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tube — the underground
  4. file — a tool
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — a container
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. prune — to trim
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. dip — to sink
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. file — a document
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. band — a music group

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