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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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. net — for catching
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. file — a line of people
  12. net — after costs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tube — the underground
  24. net — in sport

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