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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mark — a grade
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hand — in cards
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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