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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tear — to rip
  6. file — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. kid — child
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. fork — in a road
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tube — the underground

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