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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. spell — letters
  3. wound — an injury
  4. object — to protest
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. spell — magic
  10. object — a thing
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rush — hurry
  15. key — the most important part
  16. march — the month
  17. key — in music
  18. march — the month
  19. object — an aim
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. march — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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