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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mate — a friend
  10. staff — employees
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. staff — a stick
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — to cut
  17. staff — employees
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stand — to bear
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stand — on your feet

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