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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rock — music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. sharp — clever
  16. club — for golf
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — a group
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pop — soda
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — to cut

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