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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.

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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: kid · bear · tube · drill · rush · pitch · mine · sharp

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kid — child
  3. drill — army training
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bear — the animal
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitch — completely
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. tube — a container
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mine — belonging to me

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