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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. row — to paddle
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. stand — to bear
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pit — a hole
  12. tube — the underground
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. perch — the fish
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. row — a line
  23. pit — in a race
  24. leaves — of a tree

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