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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. lean — to bend
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wake — a trail
  15. date — the fruit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. net — for catching
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. tube — a container
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. tube — the underground
  23. lean — thin
  24. wind — moving air

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