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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitch — completely
  3. spell — letters
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. present — there
  10. bass — low music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. land — to come down
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. lean — thin
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. spell — magic
  22. land — a country
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lean — to bend

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