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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rule — a law
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kid — to tease
  9. drill — army training
  10. wound — an injury
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rule — government
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — in music
  23. kid — child
  24. kick — in football

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