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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. craft — boats
  3. hand — in cards
  4. squash — the sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — in biology
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rash — a series
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — help
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fine — high quality
  21. tube — a container
  22. land — a country
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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