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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. hand — help
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rule — a law
  7. club — for golf
  8. lean — thin
  9. club — a group
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. shower — rain
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rule — government
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. lean — to bend
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. shower — to wash

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