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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — the season
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — ground
  8. court — of law
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — an injury
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. suit — to fit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tube — a container
  18. court — of a king
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cue — a signal
  21. band — a music group
  22. suit — in cards
  23. land — to come down
  24. suit — clothes

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