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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. present — a gift
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — there
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. tube — the underground
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fine — all right
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. present — the time now
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. ball — a dance
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tube — a container
  24. pass — a permit

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