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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fine — all right
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stem — to come from
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. pitcher — a jug

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