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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — an illness
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. band — a music group
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a ring
  16. staff — a stick
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cold — not warm
  24. tube — a container

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