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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spell — a short time
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — to rob
  9. spell — letters
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — a container
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spell — magic
  14. stock — goods
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mark — a trace
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hand — help
  22. mark — a grade
  23. stock — shares
  24. game — a match

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