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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pop — music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pop — soda
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. hand — help
  18. stem — to come from
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tube — a container
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pop — to visit

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