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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. swing — in golf
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — for digging
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. swing — to play on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. snap — to click
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mug — a cup
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. leaves — lets stay

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