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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. tube — the underground
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. tube — a container
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. present — a gift
  9. spring — a coil
  10. cue — a signal
  11. date — the fruit
  12. present — the time now
  13. spring — of water
  14. cue — for pool
  15. present — there
  16. spring — the season
  17. cue — a hint
  18. tube — in a tire

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