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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. stem — to come from
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. staff — a stick
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — to rip
  19. last — to go on
  20. tube — the underground
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. last — final

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