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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. ball — a great time
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rash — a series
  12. game — wild animals
  13. press — to push
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. press — newspapers
  17. root — the cause
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. root — of a word
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — a match

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