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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. season — in sport
  12. chip — to eat
  13. tube — a container
  14. season — of the year
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. band — a music group
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. band — a rubber band

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