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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. court — of a king
  10. rock — music
  11. tube — a container
  12. net — after costs
  13. cap — a lid
  14. net — for catching
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cap — a hat
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. net — in sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rush — hurry
  22. court — of law
  23. rock — a stone
  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