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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spring — the season
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fall — to drop
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a skill
  20. tube — a container
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. date — on the calendar

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