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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: cold · nail · tear · fan · squash · toast · tube · ruler

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. toast — bread
  3. cold — an illness
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — a container
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. tube — the underground
  24. nail — for a hammer

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