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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. present — a gift
  4. swing — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. present — there
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. swing — to play on
  18. squash — the sport
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. file — a document
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. present — the time now

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