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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — a container
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bore — to tire
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a ring
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — the month
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — the underground
  22. march — music
  23. bore — to drill
  24. march — the month

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