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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · game · pit · drill · tube · mug · chest · file

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. tube — a container
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — a face
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. drill — army training
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pit — a hole
  15. game — a match
  16. mug — to rob
  17. tube — the underground
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. file — a document
  20. mug — a cup
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pit — in a race

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