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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. lean — to bend
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. game — a match
  5. fall — the season
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — child
  10. band — a ring
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — to drop
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. band — a music group
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kid — to tease
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. game — wild animals
  22. lean — thin
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fall — to drop

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