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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. row — to paddle
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — a container
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — help
  12. band — a ring
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. swing — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bulb — for light

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