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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — a position
  17. spring — the season
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — crushed
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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