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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. land — ground
  3. pit — in a race
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — a measure
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — to come from
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pit — a hole
  11. swing — to play on
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. swing — music
  15. land — a country
  16. swing — in golf
  17. sharp — clever
  18. land — to come down
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kick — in football
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. sharp — exactly

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