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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. hand — help
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. tube — a container
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. shower — rain
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hand — in cards
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. vault — a safe
  22. chip — to eat
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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