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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. 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. tube — a container
  2. net — after costs
  3. present — a gift
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. roll — a list
  6. current — happening now
  7. track — to keep track
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. spring — the season
  10. net — for catching
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — a cake
  14. spring — a coil
  15. track — a song
  16. current — of water
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — the underground
  19. track — a path
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. current — electric
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. 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