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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spell — letters
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — magic
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. can — a tin
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — help
  11. stand — to bear
  12. key — in music
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. pit — in a race
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — for a lock
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tube — a container
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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