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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tube — a container
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. spell — magic
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tube — the underground
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spell — letters
  16. kid — child
  17. spell — a short time
  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