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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.

Make a worksheet

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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pit — in a race
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — a hole

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