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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. content — happy
  3. pit — a hole
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to click
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stand — to bear
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. tube — a container
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — videos and posts
  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