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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. shower — to wash
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bass — low music
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bass — the fish
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. sharp — clever
  16. shower — rain
  17. tube — a container
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. press — a publisher
  24. sharp — exactly

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