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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cue — for pool
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spring — the season
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a trace
  11. tube — a container
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — thin
  16. mark — a grade
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cue — a signal
  20. tube — the underground
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to bend

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