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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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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: tube · stock · bat · cue · sharp · hand · nail · rush

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — help
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tube — a container
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. rush — hurry
  20. stock — goods
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cue — a signal
  24. rush — a thrill

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