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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. firm — steady
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — thin
  7. object — an aim
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tube — a container
  10. firm — a company
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. firm — decided
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pit — a hole
  16. object — to protest
  17. chest — a box
  18. object — a thing
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bat — the animal
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. tube — the underground
  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