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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. snap — to click
  5. drill — a practice
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. band — a ring
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — child
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. band — a music group
  23. squash — the sport
  24. band — a rubber band

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