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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tube — the underground
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. club — for golf
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. can — a tin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. snap — to click
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. shower — rain
  23. tube — a container
  24. club — a group

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