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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. 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. tube — in a tire
  2. board — to get on
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. object — an aim
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — the season
  8. object — to protest
  9. last — finally
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — for digging
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — a committee
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spring — of water
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — rain
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. object — a thing
  24. 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