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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. stock — shares
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. spring — of water
  12. ball — a great time
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. object — an aim
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. tube — a container
  23. spring — the season
  24. cold — the Cold War

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