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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 116 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: hide · staff · tube · sharp · wind · mate · bat · pit

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — a container
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tube — the underground
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bat — the animal
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. staff — employees
  16. pit — in a race
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mate — a partner
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wind — moving air

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