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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — child
  11. field — for sport
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — farmland
  14. fine — all right
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. tube — the underground
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — of a tree

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