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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — a container
  10. net — for catching
  11. court — of a king
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. tear — from crying
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. scale — size or range
  21. court — of law
  22. tear — from crying
  23. court — for sport
  24. squash — to crush

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