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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bound — certain
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. row — to paddle
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bound — tied together
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — of water
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. bound — obliged
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — the season
  24. racket — a loud noise

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