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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. tube — a container
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stand — to bear
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — child
  24. lie — an untruth

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