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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. land — ground
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — for digging
  16. track — to keep track
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — boats
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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