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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. rock — a stone
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — child
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mug — a cup
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rock — music
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. tube — the underground

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