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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rule — government
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. tube — the underground
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rule — a law
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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