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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ball — a dance
  9. mug — a face
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. spring — the season
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mug — to rob
  24. pitcher — a jug

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