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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. file — a tool
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — the month
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. lean — thin
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. file — a document
  18. march — music
  19. lean — to bend
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mark — a grade
  22. file — a line of people
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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