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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. firm — a company
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. firm — steady
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tube — a container
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stand — to bear
  10. firm — decided
  11. shower — to wash
  12. present — a gift
  13. kick — in football
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — rain
  18. tube — the underground
  19. date — the fruit
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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