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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — to come down
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. tear — from crying
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. shower — rain

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