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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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: rash · cold · net · rush · pit · file · tube · kid

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pit — in a race
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pit — a hole
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rash — hasty
  22. net — in sport
  23. rash — a series
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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