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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · tear · snap · lie · game · cap · tube · rush

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. lie — to recline
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cap — of ice
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cap — a hat
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tube — a container
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — the amount
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. content — happy
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cap — a lid
  24. content — videos and posts

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