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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — happy
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. tube — a container
  11. rash — hasty
  12. content — the amount
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tube — the underground
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a dance

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