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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — child
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fine — all right
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spring — the season
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fall — the season
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. spring — of water
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tube — a container
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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