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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stand — to bear
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. suit — clothes
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. suit — in cards
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chest — a box
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. suit — to fit
  22. tube — a container
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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