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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. game — a match
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. toast — bread
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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