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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitch — completely
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. press — to push
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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