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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. object — an aim
  3. tube — a container
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — the season
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. face — part of the head
  8. object — to protest
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of a king
  11. face — to confront
  12. court — for sport
  13. rule — government
  14. spring — of water
  15. face — to point toward
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. object — a thing
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rule — a law
  21. court — of law
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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