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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: cold · foot · kick · prune · chair · wake · tube · can

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wake — a trail
  9. prune — to trim
  10. can — a tin
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. can — to be able to
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — a measure
  18. kick — in football
  19. chair — a leader
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tube — a container

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