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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. track — a path
  3. season — of the year
  4. tube — a container
  5. kid — to tease
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. net — after costs
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. net — in sport
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — child
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. net — for catching

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