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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — to go on
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bank — for money
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. squash — the sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. last — finally
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — to rip
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bank — of a river
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ball — a dance
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a great time
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. last — final
  24. tube — the underground

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