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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tube — a container
  5. net — for catching
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. band — a ring
  8. game — a match
  9. tube — the underground
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. net — in sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — in cards
  24. net — after costs

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