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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. key — the most important part
  5. land — to come down
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — ground
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. key — for a lock
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — a country
  18. tube — the underground
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. key — in music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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