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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mug — to rob
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. lean — to bend
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. snap — to click
  10. mug — a face
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — clever
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mug — a cup
  17. lean — thin
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. tube — the underground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kid — child
  24. wind — moving air

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