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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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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fine — all right
  4. present — a gift
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. present — the time now
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. tube — a container
  15. present — there
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pitcher — a jug

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