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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. root — of a word
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitch — completely
  8. firm — decided
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. root — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. firm — steady
  13. root — the cause
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — an illness
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. row — a line
  24. firm — a company

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