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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. last — final
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — to go on
  14. spell — letters
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. prune — to trim
  18. board — to get on
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. last — finally
  24. board — a committee

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