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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. drill — a practice
  6. fall — the season
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. tube — the underground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. drill — the tool
  12. kick — in football
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. snap — to click
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. drill — army training

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