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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. foot — a measure
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. lean — thin
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. tube — the underground
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. lean — to bend
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cue — for pool
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cue — a hint
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — an explosive

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