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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. present — the time now
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. present — a gift
  7. current — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. present — there
  10. last — to go on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a music group
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. current — electric
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. last — finally
  21. current — happening now
  22. spring — of water
  23. last — final
  24. prune — to trim

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