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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. row — a line
  4. tube — the underground
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tube — a container
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. pass — a permit

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