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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. land — ground
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — a country
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — a trail
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. ground — a position
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. tube — the underground
  20. land — to come down
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. ground — crushed
  24. hand — help

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