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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fine — high quality
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rash — a series
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — all right
  9. dip — to sink
  10. land — ground
  11. tube — a container
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. land — to come down
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rash — on the skin

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