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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. tube — a container
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — rain
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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