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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — letters
  3. rest — what's left
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. spell — a short time
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spell — magic
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rest — a break
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — child
  22. rush — hurry
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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