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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tube — a container
  3. net — for catching
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — the cause
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. net — after costs
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tube — the underground
  17. firm — decided
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. firm — a company
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. firm — steady
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mine — belonging to me

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