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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. date — the fruit
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stem — to come from
  14. foot — a measure
  15. kid — child
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. tube — a container
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. swing — music
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tube — the underground

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