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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. tube — a container
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. row — a line
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. sharp — clever
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cue — a signal

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