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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — the underground
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. tube — a container
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — a straw man

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