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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — a permit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — after costs
  17. row — to paddle
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. tube — a container
  21. chest — of your body
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. chest — a box
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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