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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 116 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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. last — finally
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — letters
  7. lean — thin
  8. last — final
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lean — to bend
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. tube — a container
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. spell — magic
  16. sharp — clever
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — to go on
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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