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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — a container
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lean — to bend
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — to sink
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. kid — child
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. patient — a sick person

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