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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tear — to rip
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — ground
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. land — to come down
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — a country
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. spring — the season
  23. bowl — a football 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