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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — the underground
  5. object — an aim
  6. pop — music
  7. object — a thing
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pop — to visit
  11. tube — a container
  12. last — to go on
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. mug — a face
  18. object — to protest
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. mug — to rob
  24. tube — in a tire

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