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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. roll — a cake
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. club — for dancing
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. club — for golf
  10. spring — of water
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. roll — a list
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — to come down
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. club — a group
  17. tube — a container
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. land — a country
  21. snap — to click
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. spring — the season
  24. roll — on a roll

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