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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bank — for money
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bank — for money
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bank — of a river
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — an illness

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