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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fall — the season
  8. present — there
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pop — music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — to visit
  17. game — a match
  18. swing — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. tube — a container
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. present — the time now
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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