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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 120 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. spell — letters
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. ball — a dance
  10. field — for sport
  11. spell — magic
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cell — in biology
  20. field — a subject
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — farmland
  24. cell — in a prison

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