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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rush — hurry
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pop — music
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — in football
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tube — a container
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. club — a group
  24. row — a line

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