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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. tube — a container
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. row — a line
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. race — humankind
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tube — the underground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. race — a contest
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stand — to bear
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — dry grass

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