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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. tube — the underground
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. scale — size or range
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. swing — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wake — a trail
  18. swing — to play on
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tube — a container
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — in music

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