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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fall — to drop
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tube — the underground
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kid — child
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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