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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fine — all right
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — the cause
  7. fine — high quality
  8. tube — a container
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. band — a music group
  12. lean — thin
  13. band — a ring
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lean — to bend
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. root — of a word
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. fork — in a road

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