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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. tube — the underground
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — letters
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — a container
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stand — to bear
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — in football

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