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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. march — music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tube — the underground
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. spell — magic
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. track — a song
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. spell — letters
  17. march — the month
  18. 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