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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. net — in sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. dip — to sink
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tube — the underground
  15. scale — in music
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. tube — a container
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rush — hurry
  23. chair — a leader
  24. pit — in a race

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