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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. board — to get on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tube — the underground
  6. board — a committee
  7. spell — letters
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — magic
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. craft — boats
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. tube — a container
  18. wind — moving air
  19. craft — a skill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. dip — to sink
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spell — a short time
  24. craft — a handicraft

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