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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — to paddle
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. shower — rain
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. press — to push
  18. row — a line
  19. press — newspapers
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rest — a break
  22. tube — the underground
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pop — music

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