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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rush — hurry
  3. march — the month
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. staff — employees
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. kid — child
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — music
  17. key — in music
  18. staff — employees
  19. tube — the underground
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — the month
  23. game — a match
  24. tube — a container

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