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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chest — a box
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. spring — the season
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. spring — of water
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. tube — the underground
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitch — completely
  23. ball — a dance
  24. craft — a skill

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