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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wound — an injury
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pass — a permit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fall — the season
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. can — a tin
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. squash — to crush
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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