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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. last — final
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kid — to tease
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. last — finally
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. last — to go on
  23. chip — to eat
  24. plane — a tool

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