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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. fall — the season
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mate — a partner
  7. spring — the season
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spring — a coil
  10. date — the fruit
  11. tube — a container
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — of water
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. mate — to breed
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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