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

Word bank: date · kick · stick · tube · chest · swing · bear · wind

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. swing — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bear — the animal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — the fruit
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. chest — a box
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. kick — in football
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tube — a container
  24. chest — of your body

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