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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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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: last · tear · cue · foot · kid · mine · tube · bound

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bound — certain
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tube — a container
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — finally
  11. cue — a signal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kid — child
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — the underground
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bound — tied together
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. foot — the bottom

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