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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mug — to rob
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fall — the season
  8. ball — a great time
  9. mug — a face
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ground — a position
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ground — crushed
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. game — a match
  24. hand — help

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