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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. march — the month
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. toast — bread
  15. wound — an injury
  16. march — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. march — the month
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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