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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tube — the underground
  10. fall — the season
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. swing — music
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tube — a container
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — child

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