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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. deal — to handle
  3. spring — the season
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitch — completely
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mark — a trace
  11. key — in music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. key — the most important part
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tube — a container
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. spring — a coil
  24. date — the fruit

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