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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — the fruit
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. craft — a skill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tube — a container
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. craft — boats
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. tube — the underground
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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