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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — an illness
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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