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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. cap — of ice
  5. court — for sport
  6. roll — a list
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — of water
  10. face — to confront
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cap — a lid
  15. court — of a king
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — a hat
  23. face — to point toward
  24. kid — child

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