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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: cold · tube · straw · net · bowl · cue · bound · pit

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pit — a hole
  16. net — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. cue — a signal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — a container
  23. cue — for pool
  24. straw — a straw man

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