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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — the season
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rule — a law
  10. tube — the underground
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rock — music
  18. tube — a container
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — the animal
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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