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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a list
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. roll — a cake
  8. spring — a coil
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spring — the season
  13. can — a tin
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. spring — of water
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. sharp — clever
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. date — on the calendar
  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