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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cap — a hat
  3. key — in music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. key — the most important part
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. key — for a lock
  11. snap — to click
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tube — the underground
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. tube — in a tire

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