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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fall — the season
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. toast — bread
  11. drill — a practice
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — a container
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fall — to drop
  24. arm — part of the body

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