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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bound — obliged
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — certain
  10. prune — to trim
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bound — tied together
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — rain
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. chest — a box
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. tube — the underground

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