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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 ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a match
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lean — thin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. game — wild animals
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. saw — the tool
  20. lean — to bend
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. tube — the underground
  24. leaves — to go away

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