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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cold — not warm
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — letters
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — a phone
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fork — in a road
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. tube — the underground
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. spell — a short time

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