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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kid — to tease
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. plane — a tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kid — child
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bass — the fish
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. band — a music group
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bass — low music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — an illness
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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