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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — ground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — to get on
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. snap — to click
  16. land — to come down
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kid — child
  19. board — a committee
  20. tube — a container
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — in music

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