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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. staff — employees
  4. pop — to visit
  5. spring — the season
  6. pop — music
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — of water
  9. staff — a stick
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. roll — a cake
  12. pop — soda
  13. tube — the underground
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. roll — a list
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — a coil

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